Thursday, December 3, 2015

Back In The Fold

Further to my latest Brooks Blog adventure, you may have noticed that I've still got that Brompton, and in fact I went all multimodal on it once again yesterday:

(Wildcat: Lord of the Fold)

I have by this point become an unabashed fan of the Brompton bicycle. In fact I'm such a fan of it that I've stopped linking to them directly, because I'm afraid that if I do they might remember I've still got the bike and ask for it back. And even if they do ask for it back I'm simply going to say "No," because what are they going to do, come up here and take it from me?

Please.

The only thing less scary than people with English accents* is people with English accents riding folding bikes.

"So why do I like the Brompton so much?" I'm asking myself rhetorically. Well, apart from the obvious benefits (you can take it on a train at any time of day, you can bring it inside anywhere, it enhances your clown factor by a million), it's also the ideal bike for when you're riding with kids:

See, kids are weak and lazy, so when you go riding with them it's inevitable that at some point you're going to have to carry their bike up some stairs or something like that. Wrangling both their bike and yours can be a major pain in the ass, but at least if your bike has smaller wheels than theirs it's that much easier.

"But there are tons of folding bikes out there. So what makes the Brompton special?," I'm asking myself rhetorically again. Or, to put it another way:

Well, I admit I don't have vast folding bike experience, though before the Brompton came along I spent a lot of time riding one with a that rhymes with "Tern," because it was in fact a Tern. It rode quite nicely for a clown bike, and it folded and unfolded quickly too. However, the Brompton also rides quite nicely for a clown bike. Not only that, but it folds up much smaller and tighter, like a secret spy message moments before you swallow it. This makes a huge difference when you're getting on and off the train or in and out of the elevator, which is the whole point of a folding bike in the first place. The Brompton is very easy to carry while folded, and you can even unfold the handlebars and put it in "luggage" mode. (I even got it through one of these things while riding the subway, so there you go.) Meanwhile, the Tern was comparatively unwieldy, and because it folds in half and is held together with this little rubber strap it seemed to want to unfold while I was carrying it and hit me in the shins.

(This is not to say the Tern is a bad bike, it most certainly isn't. The difference is that the Tern aspires to be like a full-sized bike, whereas the Brompton fully embraces its clownishness.)

Plus, there's just something about British engineering that speaks directly to your soul:

Most of all, I feel like I'm now part of a special club and possessed of some sort of secret knowledge. For example, I always found this video funny:

But now I find it doubly funny because I know that all she had to do was raise the seatpost.

Speaking of my last Brooks post, I also took some time over the Thanksgiving holiday to ride a rugged all-terrain bicycle, though not before giving my rear hub a little servicing:

Almost a year ago now I noticed the engagement seemed a little balky, so I did what any sensible person would do, which was put on different wheels, stick this one in a corner, and forget all about it.

However, this past weekend as I gave thanks for my vast bounty of bike crap I realized it was ridiculous not to be using my fine artisanal hand-curated boutique bicycle hubs, and so I finally popped it open and re-lubricated it, which is a process that takes maybe 10 minutes.

By the way, the manufacturer says you have to use their special proprietary grease, and of course that's just what I did:

Ahem.

While I'm on the subject of expensive proprietary goops, this is probably also a good time to remind you that if you treat your Brooks saddle with anything other than Proofide it's liable to catch on fire, especially if you're flatulent:

("Shoulda used Proofide!")

You have been warned.

(On the other hand, you can use Proofide for stuff other than protecting your Brooks saddle. For instance, this Thanksgiving we basted our turkey with it. It was delicious!)

Of course, in addition to not using the specified grease, I also used the wrong tools, because apparently I should have been using these $125 Silca hex wrenches:

Quality models do exist from brands like Park Tool and Bondhus, but using does not evoke the same pleasure as when turning the Silcas.
Oh come on.These hex wrenches reach another level of craftsmanship—and price. The company makes the $125 tools from hardened, shock-resistant steel, and coats them in chrome. Silca claims the manufacturing tolerances are tighter than on most wrenches, which leads to fewer rounded bolts.

Uh, what? Now that square taper cranks have gone the way of the downtube shifter I don't think there's a single Allen key fitting on a bicycle that requires more than two fingers to tighten--especially if you're a Fred who reads "Bicycling," in which case you're almost certainly ridin' the crabon dragon. That means if you overtighten something your bike is going to splinter and crack long before you get anywhere near the point where you'd round out a bolt. I'm fairly certain you could use one of those freebies that come with the Ikea furniture and you'd be just fine.

But of course these are still worth it, which the reviewer knows, because he's a mechanic:

I am not a mechanic, but I do use hex wrenches frequently to tinker on my bikes.
Ah, sorry, he's not a mechanic. But he does adjust his bike a lot:After months of tightening stems, adjusting my saddle height, and dislodging stubborn pedal spindles, the Silca hex wrenches still look new, which is to say stunning. One of my favorite details is the non-slip coating, which allowed me to maintain a secure grip even when my hands were dotted with grease.

I think if your bike requires that much adjustment tools may be the least of your problems and there may be a bicycle sizing issue at play.

Then of course there's the problem of looking for excuses to use these things:

I liked using the tools so much that I found myself working on my bikes more often, and adjusting bolts and fasteners multiple times.

That's not good. As an inept mechanic I've destroyed all kinds of stuff in my life, and in nearly every case it's because I got carried away and kept futzing with something I should have just left well enough alone.

Nevertheless, despite my crappy Allen keys I bought in a (gasp) hardware store, I got the my rear wheel buttoned back up in plenty of time to hit the trails:

I'd been riding the Marin Pine Mountain 1 lately, so the tires on this bike looked positively diminutive to me:

As much as I'm enjoying the Marin it felt good to get back on this bike, because sometimes you want to ride a bike with big squishy tires and lots of gears, and sometimes you don't.

One of these would convene some kind of bicycle "task force" made up of people who don't ride bikes, so you know that can't turn out well:

Intro 219, introduced in 2014 at the request of Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, would establish a panel to “develop recommendations on how make New York City more bicycle-friendly.” Speaking to AMNY, however, Matt Viggiano, director of land use and planning for bill sponsor Rosie Mendez, made it sound like the task force would be yet another venue for people to complain about delivery cyclists and e-bikes.The two-year task force would have a broad agenda, examining issues that include the allocation of federal funding and the development of physical infrastructure. The group would be made up of commissioners or designees from DOT, the Department of City Planning, and the Parks Department, plus appointees selected by the mayor and council speaker.

And the other would allow...well, somebody to remove your bike if left unattended for more than 36 hours:

Another bill, Brad Lander’s Intro 787, deals with clearing abandoned bicycles. Under the bill, the city could impound a bike left unattended for 36 hours after it is tagged by an “enforcement officer” from an unspecified agency. Owners would either pay a fine to reclaim impounded bikes or contest impoundments at Environmental Control Board hearings.

I don't have a problem with the city getting rid of abandoned bikes, but 36 hours isn't a very long time. What happens if you park your shitty beater bike outside for a few days and someone decides it's an eyesore? That doesn't seem fair, especially when drivers get seven days for their shitty cars:

(9) Street storage of vehicles prohibited. When parking is not otherwise restricted, no personshall park any vehicle in any area, including a residential area, in excess of seven consecutivedays.

Though in practice they get as much time as they want, because if you've ever reported any sort of illegally parked car to 311 you know the drill--you get an email like this:

Apparently the illegally-parked vehicle being right the fuck there doesn't constitute "evidence of the violation," which is why here in New York City you're basically free to run over anybody you want with your car.

The New York pedestrian gets good at judging his or her foot speed against the velocity of onrushing vehicles. But the addition of bike lanes, and the bikers they carry, has made jaywalking a more fraught proposition. “You know about the cars. You know about that potential danger when you’re crossing the street. You know you might end up a bag of blood and guts and bones. But that is a finite realm of danger,” says Jack Brown, who used to own a bike shop in the East Village. “When it comes to cyclists, that danger is infinite. Cyclists can be anywhere, at any time: on the sidewalk, riding the wrong way down the street. And you have no peace … The anarchy that has been allowed to prevail is astonishing. According to butterfly theory, according to chaos theory, I am sure that the level of emotional and psychological damage wrought by the bicycle far exceeds the damage done by cars.” And then Brown goes there: “It is homegrown terrorism. The cumulative effect is equivalent to what happened on 9/11.”

138 comments:

85. In this section we have explained how many people in modern society do satisfy their need for the power process to a greater or lesser extent. But we think that for the majority of people the need for the power process is not fully satisfied. In the first place, those who have an insatiable drive for status, or who get firmly “hooked” on a surrogate activity, or who identify strongly enough with a movement or organization to satisfy their need for power in that way, are exceptional personalities. Others are not fully satisfied with surrogate activities or by identification with an organization (see paragraphs 41, 64). In the second place, too much control is imposed by the system through explicit regulation or through socialization, which results in a deficiency of autonomy, and in frustration due to the impossibility of attaining certain goals and the necessity of restraining too many impulses.

I had a feeling you were riding the small-wheeled bike so the little one could keep up!

That Lord Flatley appears to really like your seat post?

That hub porn has really gotten me going. So instead of using grease (a paste-like substance) you used motor oil? Is this kosher, so to speak? Since you're using motor oil, is it now an e-bike? [So far, I haven't gone further than removing the cassette (i.e., Fred second base)]

Top 13 from Kyoto-maybe could have won if I wasn't reading yesterday's comment. Been in Japan for 4 days, saw a few million bikes on the roads, but only one helmet all week, on a small kid in a baby bike seat on the back of the bike. Still lots of fixes over here too.

Next time you are in the Shanghai region, give me a call, we can ride Brompton's or any other ironic (I mean made with iron) bikes around TaiHu lake and get drunk on Belgian beer in the evening.Patrick

I think America is ready for the bike-themed sci-fi/horror blockbuster: evil wizard is breeding hordes of bike-riding Orcs in a vast underground parking facility, and they regularly emerge to brandish their "infinite" menace, so swift and random that no one is safe from their studded wheels. Who shall oppose them? Why, a lovable rag-tag band of misfits, of course - a wizened female gnome with sharp tongue, a big galoot with a bigger pickup truck that can lay down a black cloud of orc-choking fumes, a courageous former bike-store owner who has woken to the menace, a few brave pedestrians wielding umbrellas and lawsuits, and a rogue cop handing out tickets right and left - you get the idea. Let's get together, fellows, and block out the screenplay! I'll bring the Pepsi!

oddly enough, my bieky tool box was right in front of me a couple days ago when i wanted to adjust my spd cleats. but also an ikea just lying there. so i picked that one up and sure enough it fit the screw. about a 5 mm i think

Heh. Yeah, we cyclists are endangering everyone in America, but you guys need more guns. Because if everyone, including toddlers, teachers, ministers and medical personnel were carrying a gun then those almost daily mass shootings would for sure kill far fewer people. Besides, everyone knows guns are better than bikes. Guns n Cars, Cars n Guns... living the American dream.

And you're building a wall to keep people OUT?? Forget that. I'd be fleeing...

Ha! Great insight, Wildcat.The two LBS owners I know hate Freds. They come into the shop with the simplest of problems, expect the bike shop owner to drop everything and fix it now because the Fred has an Epic ride to do.

Glad to see the City Council is diverting precious resources to the scourge of bicyclists since the city TOTALLY has that wreckless motorist thing under control. I like to think of this as the NYPD as providing a valuable service to motorists: Kill or injure someone? Stay on the scene and be exonerated immediately OR just leave and they put your name in a lottery and you have a 999 out of a 1000 chances to never hear about it again. Either way, they're here to serve you.

I bought my three (3) complete sets of hex keys at (gasp)Sears. Sears isn't very cool (it's probably, in fact, where cool goes to die), but Craftsman hex keys (and Craftsman tools in general) are great and about 1/10 the cost of those stupid Silca tools. You may ask, why did I buy three(3)? I didn't buy them all at the same time, but it is helpful to have multiple sets of hex keys. What I really need and what somebody needs to sell is a 20 pack of 4s and 5s with a couple of 3s and 6s thrown in. Even owning three complete sets of hex keys, I can NEVER find a 4mm or a 5mm when I need one.

Babble at 1009: Don't forget airline travel; if every passenger were given a handgun at the gate, airline travel would be so much safer. Heard on news that since Jan 1 2015 there have been 350 shootings in Canada's underbelly, each killing FOUR or more people. A batting average of over one a day. WE'RE #1.

Last time I lost a 5mm hex wrench I got fed up and headed over to fleabay and bought a 5 pack of Allen brand 5mm wrenches for about 2 bucks. Someone had bulk packs of 20 Craftsman 4-5-6mm wrenches too, but since I only seem to loose the 5s that seemed overkill.

I'm and Eklind man myself. You order the 'Merican/MM combo pack on the company dime cuz they are the same price as one of each on sale from MSC then take the MM home because NOTHING in here is Japanish.

BP does suck. And yeah, didn't I say that? Guns and cars, cars and guns... pick up trucks are just like cars, doll, except bigger, and you can put more guns in them. What you guys need is more guns and more cars, and a great big wall on both borders to keep all yer fucking gun crazy, pick up truck driving lunatics IN.

"Heard on news that since Jan 1 2015 there have been 350 shootings in Canada's underbelly, each killing FOUR or more people."

In general crime including violent crime in the US started increasing dramatically after WWII and peaked in the early 1980. Even the crime upswing in the early 1990's referred to as the "crack epidemic" did not bring crime rates up the the 1970s level. Crime rates have continuously fallen since then and are continuing to fall.

Note this is crime RATES that are falling. The United States has almost twice as many people as it did right after WWII and the crime RATE per 10,000 people is falling.

Falling does not mean zero, there is still crime in this county. So every slow news day you can find an horrific crime someplace in the US to start off your news broadcast.

Too Soon,my sentiments exactly. Bad timing and bad taste. Babble, you seem to live in a black and white world. Yes, no shit the U.S. has a gun problem, thanks for smugly and insensitively pointing that out on the eve of a another horrible mass killing. Yes we are all fucking appalled and sad about that. Please save the dorm room political rants for your "blog" that no one reads.

This afternoon one of my modular Aztec brake pads slithered right out, and the cotter pin could not be found. I went ahead and rode 20 miles with only one working brake. It was The Afternoon of Riding Dangerously! I was so giddy I almost took off my foam hat.

People that are tool dorks, and can appreciate the difference in feel, quality, durability from a Matco or Snap on rachet, to a craftsman, to a harbor freight chinese tool, would love these wrenchs.

That said, prolly 90% of professional, normal bike shop wrenches use Park or Pedros T-handles that are like $30. They work good.

Best, inexpensive allen key set is the Bondhus.

P.S. Your Engin still sucks. King hubs are some of the worst offenders for overpriced bike jewerly, that is more finicky, less durable than cheaper parts. Inferior hub, IMO. As a huge bike jewelery and tool dork, I still have a King hub tool bearing press kicking around in my toolbox. King is the worst high end hub I've used. I do admire King for making everything in house, commitment to environment and employees and what not, but their products are poorly designed.

We're getting personal now, are we? Nice. How big of you to go after me and my blog, seriously. Guess I'd better not piss you off, though, lest you're holding a gun...

Um, and so sorry to offend your delicate sensibilities, Too. But by your logic you'll never, ever be in a position to do anything about it, because every single day some nutter goes off on a rage and kills people. Can we talk about Columbine? How about Sandy Hook? Try googling mass shooting and school, and take a look at the unbelievably long list of kids who have been victims of gun violence. How is it you're happy with the status quo? How is it that this continues to happen day after day after fucking day and I'm not even allowed to TALK about it? Heaven forbid you should actually address the issue at hand and DO something to change it. No, none of that. Let's just attack the people who want to talk about it. Yeahm that's it. Take it out on the folks who aren't content with sighing, holding a moment of silence and then continuing on with the madness quo, business as usual.

JLRB @10:31, I like my Brooks saddles, and I'm sure the C13 is a thing of great beauty, but they make 259 crabon-framed ones weighing 259 grammes as a 'limited edition' and conveniently charge €259 (about the same in $, I think) each. If they can sell these, let's hope Brooks don't take the same pricing approach to the next batch of 520 B17s at 520 grammes each. Snob, can you have a word with Eric and ask him where my test C13 has got to? I only live round the corner. P.S. They can take my Brompton when they pry it from my cold, dead thighs. (Thanks, Charlton!)

Uh-oh: more anonyhate! Is this what happens when I let Ted K on the podio? It begrimes the whole thing, pulls the focus, and produces a dizzying type of vertigo? Babs obviously you're right about stuff, but it does seem like people just talk talk talk about it every time. Nothing will be done about it, is the bottom line, so I've moved on. Although if I'm ever in a shooting I'll do what I can to stop it, which is what I wish 1,000 people in a theater would do. There's an abundance of guns but an even bigger shortage of courage.

Babble, Now I see it. The personal attack is an interesting addition to the original statement, I guess that's equivalent of "I'll show you". Kind of the attack Donald Trump would launch while adding at the end ....and I'll sue the crap out of you and call you names on Twitter, so there take that"

AAANYWAY. Strictly speaking, Tern does not rhyme with Tern. But try telling that to Ozzy who rhymes masses with masses. So Tern is basically the offspring of Dahon, which folds the same way, and you know what, I have to agree with all criticisms leveled here today. Also in my case since I bought the low-end model, there are a few additional. But since I'm not a semi-professional or even an amateur bike blogger, nobody is giving me any free Brompo's, fucko's, and there are more important things to buy. I still like having it as an emergency bike of sorts and I keep the tires (tyres?) well-inflated.

Please, I come here to escape the fuckery of the world, and I appreciate the free speech zone. I love the Babs, probably don't have much in common with most, and to tell the truth am a gun toting pickup driving redneck when I'm not riding my bike. So there.

They don't all got lots of guns up there in Canada but they got lots of hockey sticks an' I thinks they like to goes on out an' club baby seals to death with them an' then go on home to their igloos an' chow down on back bacon an' maple syrup. Mind you, I done wonder why they had to register the long guns but you never hear nothin' 'bout them mindin' short ones?

Close your eyesTake a deep breathSmileMy gun is pointing at youYou don't knowWhat you'll do Your ego fills you Full of bluster, BusterBecause you thinkYou're braveBut your heart will beatDifferent than ever beforeAnd then you'll knowWhat you're made of

I don't have a gun or a pickup but I think there should be a certain number of guns out there so the government knows who it is fucking with. Where are all the pro-gun socialists? Is what I wanna know. Although on the other hand that just means they'll never be stupid enough to engage on that level. They go straight to mind control. And they're not doing too bad at that.

Opinions! Yay! Nobody wants loons staggerring around with weapons. Nobody want incompetents behind the wheel of vehicles either. The great debate is who is going to decide who is a loon or incompetent. According to the wickiingpedia and gun policy.org, the number and ratio per 100,000 is about the same. Everyone breaks out in hives over guns but cars? Meh. What's 33,000 per year. All drivers are supposed to be tested, licensed, cars registered and insured. How's that working out for everyone? Anybody calling to ban all cars?

Well that'll never happen either, but I wouldn't mind it because I'm not car-dependent and it would actually make my life a lot less risky & probably more pleasant. I would vote for that before a gun ban for sure.

The ol' gun / car comparison is a rich vein indeed. Can you imagine gun makers putting distracting shit in the gun like, connect it with your cell phone and talk to you and shit? Or do they do that already?

I remember when my cousin came home from Vietnam Nam and my father took out his shotgun and fired it from our driveway to the woods 200 yards away (between two houses across the street) .. My cousin took the gun and did the same, saying, " yes Uncle Dave, that's quite a kick@ ( he knew how to handle his uncles when they drank)

Not to many years later I was 12 & playing with the gun in the garage when no one was home. It went off and left s large divot a few inches in front of my toe. I consider that an idyllic American boyhood.

never had any near misses with a gun. the gun club and the old man were pretty strict about safety. musta worked as all we kids made it to adulthood.

but i did the next best thing the time i set the oil slick on the garage floor a blazin'. jeez the old oil smokes like bat shit. that's true americana. and thank the lord for no neighbors and the parents being out.

I had an uncle who as a teenager was enjoying his idyllic American boyhood at a family friend's farm. Bearing a .22 pistol in a belt holster he inadvertently fired the gun and shot himself in the foot. He tried to keep the incident from his mother (my grandma) but eventually had to own up to it when the wound became infected.

that hibiki is growing on me. i've moved to doing it with soda (like scotch and soda) and it's quite loverly. just settled back with my second reconciling monthly accounts with my hibiki listening to The Great Society and stones Let It Bleed. now that's an americaner way to pass the eve.

So if they outlaw cars and even a third of the people currently driving change to bikes - how fukked up do you think the bike lanes/shoaling/salmoning/generally being dickish would be? Not to mention the overcrowded MUPs.

So Babble, is this your idea of intelligent discourse on a serious topic?

".... Besides, everyone knows guns are better than bikes. Guns n Cars, Cars n Guns... living the American dream. And you're building a wall to keep people OUT?? Forget that. I'd be fleeing..."

Sounds more like sarcastic criticism or just anti-American gloating.

How about this?

"What you guys need is more guns and more cars, and a great big wall on both borders to keep all yer fucking gun crazy, pick up truck driving lunatics IN."

Yes, you are right it clearly sounds like you are really trying to engage in an intelligent discussion.

No one is attacking you, you are the one who is doing the attacking. Also, you haven't got a clue what anyone is doing about the gun problem, so it is pretty presumptuous to say that we are doing nothing, other than attacking you for talking about it. Also, I wouldn't be so quick to congratulate yourself so much for being such an activist, your anger filled rants are hardly constructive. It's just another opportunity for you to show how liberally sensitive you. Well done.

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About Me

While I love cycling and embrace it in all its forms, I'm also extremely critical. So I present to you my venting for your amusement and betterment. No offense meant to the critiqued. Always keep riding!